Using+Rhetoric+to+Support+a+Claim

MODULE 2 OVERVIEWtoc

READING CLOSELY AND ANALYZING THE USE OF RHETORIC TO SUPPORT A CLAIM

ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do authors use rhetoric to support a claim?

This module allows students to engage with literature and nonfiction texts and explore how the authors’ use of rhetoric helps to support their claim. Students will analyze different text structures to understand how an author’s use of tone and structure can vary even while the topic remains the same.

This module also focuses on continuing to develop students’ close reading skills and strengthening their writing skills through multi paragraph writing assignments based on text analysis, small group discussion, and analysis.

Unit I Introduction to Rhetoric
Introduces students to rhetoric in nonfiction and in poetry and asks students to determine the purpose of the use of the rhetoric in each piece through analysis of the author’s specific word choice, figurative language, and identification of the author’s claim.

Suggested Student Objectives

Students will be required to:
 * 1) Read closely for textual details.
 * 2) Annotate texts to support comprehension and analysis.
 * 3) Engage in productive evidence-based conversations about text.
 * 4) Use rubrics for self-assessment and peer review of writing.
 * 5) Generate and respond to questions in scholarly discourse.
 * 6) Independently preview text in preparation for supported analysis.
 * 7) Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically.
 * 8) Determine meaning of unknown vocabulary.

Unit II Engaging in Analysis across Texts
Introduces students to a given topic (human rights) in literary nonfiction and allows them to analyze different text structures using text-based evidence.

Suggested Student Objectives

Students will continue to develop unit 1 skills as well as:


 * 1) Collect and organize evidence from the text to support analysis in writing
 * 2) Make claims about the text using specific textual evidence
 * 3) Incorporate newly learned vocabulary in written and verbal responses
 * 4) Express and analyze evolving impressions of the text as it advances

Unit III Refine Understanding How Rhetoric Furthers a Claim
Refines student understanding of how the authors’ use of rhetoric furthers their specific claims related to a broad topic (human rights) through the analysis of nonfiction documents, the development of claim, and the evaluation of the quality of the evidence presented.

Suggested Student Objectives

Students will continue to develop unit 1and 2 skills as well as: 1) Delineate an argument, assessing evidence and reasoning. 2) Independently preview text in preparation for supported analysis. 3) Paraphrase and quote relevant evidence from a text. 4) Write original evidence-based claims.

Academic Vocabulary
Point of View Close Reading Conflict Symbolism Theme Perspective Tone Structure Rhetoric Claim Text-Based Evidence Text Structure Delineate Central Idea Analyze Clarify Cumulative Understanding Connotation Imagery

CCS Standards
Reading—Literature RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). Reading—Informational Text RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. RI.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). RI.9-10.5 Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter). RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. RI.9-10.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. RI.9-10.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. Writing W.9-10.2.a-f Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). W.9-10.9.b Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grades 9-10 Reading standards to literary non-fiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”).

Primary Readings
Antigone by Sophocles (required) – Can be used at any point in the module

Unit 1

Short Stories/ Poems “In This Blind Alley,” Ahmad Shamlu (required) ] “Freedom,” Rabindranath Tagore (required) “Women,” Alice Walker (required)

Non fiction/ Informational Texts “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. (required)

Unit 2

Nonfiction/Informational Texts “A Genetics of Justice” by Julia Alvarez (required) “Remembering To Never Forget” by Mark Memmott (required)

Unit 3

Nonfiction/Informational Texts The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (required)

“On the Adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by Elenor Roosevelt (required) “Address to the United Nations Youth Assembly” by Malala Yousafzai (required)

Additional Short Stories/Novel Excerpts excerpts from Black Boy by Richard Wright

"First They Came for the Jews" by Pastor Martin Niemoller

Additional Nonfiction Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech WW II Timeline Genocide Then and Now

Suggested Novels Night by Elie Wiesel Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Portillo Beals A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Art and Media Malala’s address to the UN

Current Events Brown Boy by Lois Mailou Jones Oprah Winfrey Interview with Elie Wiesel Art for Change Los Angeles Mark Vallen

Resource Links
Found on Engageny.org, linked whenever possible

Short Response Rubrics Jigsaw Activity (Module 2, Unit 1, 3) Argument Visual and Handout (Module 2, Unit 1) Rhetorical Impact Tracking Tool (Module 2, Unit 1, 3) – additional models available on Engageny.org Argument Delineation Tool (Module 2, Unit 1, 3) – additional models available on Engageny.org Model Central Ideas Tracking Tools (Module 2, Unit 1, 2, 3) – additional models available on Engageny.org

Paragraph Discussion Tool (Module 2, Unit 2)

Activities
Independent Reading: Double-entry journals Group Discussions Blog Discussions Socratic seminars Think-Pair-Share

Essays Informative/Explanatory Writing Comparative Analysis Writing Literary Analysis Essay

Assessment
10.2.1 Mid-Unit Assessment

Text-Based Response

Your Task: Rely on your reading and analysis of paragraphs 1–21 of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to write a well-developed response to the following prompt:

Determine King’s purpose in paragraphs 1-21 of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and analyze how he uses rhetoric and specific word choices to advance that purpose.

Your writing will be assessed using the 10.2.1 Mid-Unit Text Analysis Rubric.

Guidelines

Be sure to:
 * Closely read the prompt
 * Address all elements of the prompt in your response
 * Paraphrase, quote, and reference relevant evidence to support your claim
 * Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner
 * Maintain a formal style of writing
 * Follow the conventions of standard written English